Strength of Sages
by FuuryHaavoc
Summary: One day, after being beaten within an inch on his life for the hundredth time, six year old Naruto awakens something that no one ever knew he had, and on that very same night he stumbles upon the Kyuubi and the identities of his parents. Now with the Spartan Kitsune as a teacher and the power of the sages at his disposal, Naruto will become the world's most legendary shinobi...


_**Summary:**__ One day, after being beaten within an inch on his life for the hundredth time, six year old Naruto awakens something that no one ever knew he had; the Rinnegan; and on that very same night he stumbles upon the Kyuubi and the identities of his parents. Now with the Spartan Kitsune as a teacher and the power of the sages at his disposal, Naruto will become the world's most legendary shinobi, and on his journey to become the best he will have the chance to make friends he never knew he could have, and might even have a shot at changing the world… if he doesn't botch the part where orange is not a color that ninja should be wearing!_

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me unfortunately… This goes for all other chapters as well.**

**(A/N)- **Naruto will eventually become super powerful, but at first he is going to simply be very much above average, he will have difficulties in some of his fights depending on who they're against, and will not become strong easily, it will take a lot of hard work and effort.

His personality will be different from Canon but not unbelievably so, and I will definitely change a few other things. There will likely be a few time skips to add to the affect and provide some mystery and suspense, and I am not sure on the pairings yet, I will probably open a poll on pairings after a few more chapters are out so that I know you have gotten a feel for the characters and my writing style.

"Normal talking"

'_Mind talking' -_ When Naruto is not inside his mindscape

"**Kyuubi talking" **- Naturally going to be in Naruto's mind

_**Kyuubi thinking **_– Naruto cannot hear them

_Thoughts _

_**~0o0~**_

**Prologue**

A small, blonde haired, blue eyed, six year old boy panted heavily as he ran for his life down a rather empty street in the slums of Konoha.

Yes there are slums in Konoha, because, contrary to popular belief, the village hidden in the leaves is not a perfect peaceful city that disciples nothing but the most pure and powerful of Shinobi. Orochimaru is a wondrous example that would counter that statement.

Konoha is a city just like any other and is therefore going to have a few areas that the common civilian will avoid at all costs if they can help it. Places where the homeless gather or drunkards wobble around selling drugs. Where crime is at an all-time constant high, and even the illustrious Konoha police force, made up of only Uchiha Clan members for the most part, don't dare to tread around the area for long. With all of the stores and houses deserted and boarded up aside from the sparse liquor stores that end up getting a better profit from the thieves that routinely break in and steal alcohol in the middle of the night, than the actual selling their goods.

But the tiny child named Naruto is not running for his life through this area out of choice. No, he was driven to this part of town by the mob of people currently chasing after him. Screaming out things like:

"Kill the demon!"

"Make it pay!"

"Avenge our families!"

"Death to the demon!"

"Get back here monster!"

"For our loved ones!"

"Kill it!"

And it's not like it's just civilians that are chasing him this time. A few ninja had decided to join in the mob of people trying to finally kill the demon brat.

Naruto has been hunted down and beaten by Konoha's civilian populace many times, so walking out of his run-down apartment to find a crowd of people, armed with torches and an odd assortment of weapons, waiting to kill him isn't exactly something new. In fact he was surprised that they hadn't just decided to burn down his entire apartment complex with him in it, it's not like anybody else would want to live in the old abandoned building that the demon resides in so no one else would be hurt.

But he digresses; the point is that this would defiantly be the first time that any ninja's have joined in on the 'fun'.

Having genin and chunin, albeit new and inexperienced chunin, chasing him while throwing kunai and shuriken is, to say the least, terrifying.

Naruto always figured that the masked shinobi or ANBU, that he knew were following him everywhere like creepy stalkers ever since he could walk, stopped the other shinobi from joining in on the beatings, but apparently this time they don't feel like helping him out.

_After all who would want to help the demon brat? _He thought cynically.

The people would always chase him down and beat him to near death for doing one thing or another, things he is sure he has never done in his life.

Killing a sibling, parent, or some other loved one, destroying the village, some even accused him of killing the Yondaime Hokage; however that is supposed to have worked out in their obviously confused minds. _How am I supposed to have killed a Kage and destroyed a village when I'm only six?_

Seriously it doesn't make sense.

Naruto grimaced when something sharp grazed his leg as he forced himself to slow down slightly in order to turn a corner without falling over. This, unfortunately, giving the people behind him an opportunity to catch up, the blonde is just lucky that none the Shinobi chasing him have very good aim, or know any high speed techniques for that matter, 'cause of they did he would be royally screwed.

Naruto managed to successfully stick the turn without getting caught or falling over only to see a short alleyway ending in a dead end. That had him swerving to a stop just before he ran face first into the eight-foot-tall wall of solid brick. This of course saved him from a rather painful and embarrassing face plant but left him trapped with no possible way out.

Naruto whipped around, eyes wide and terrified, just in time to meet a clenched fist to the face, sending him back a couple feet and onto his back. These mobs just keep getting faster and faster, maybe the exercise they get every day from chasing him relentlessly is doing them some good aside from the smug satisfaction they get from treating him like dirt.

The six year old stood shakily as the crowd of people all entered the ally, effectively circling him and leaving him with no escape route.

"Heh, you're not getting away this time demon! We're finally gonna kill you and avenge the deaths of everyone you've murdered!" One of the men yelled as he threw a half-full sake bottle at Naruto.

The blonde flinched when the bottle hit his head but did not show any other signs of the pain he was feeling. There is no way he is going to give them the pleasure of knowing that they have hurt him.

Instead Naruto screamed back at the people as they began to close in on him with their weapons "I haven't even done anything to you, so just leave me alone!"

He had hoped that his proclamation would at least make a few of them leave but instead it just made them even more determined to rid the world of the demon brat. Hell it had a few of them getting even angrier than they were before he opened his big mouth.

He should know by now to just shut up and take whatever they dish out, it often ends faster that way, but no, he being who he is just has to open his mouth like an idiot and practically antagonize his tormentors into making it worse for him in the long run.

"Looks like we really have been going easy on you for too long, why don't we just kill it and do the rest of the village a favor!" one of Naruto's regular attackers shouted above the yelled insults of the rest as they began to hit him with whatever was at their disposal.

Naruto fell onto the ground and curled himself up into a ball as the people started to kick him and beat him with their weapons. He felt metal rods leave welts on his body and yard tools cut deeply into his skin, he even felt the fire of a kitchen knife and kunai as they were stabbed repeatedly into his legs.

All the while Naruto remained curled tightly in the fetal position in a futile attempt to protect his chest and abdomen from his attackers. He sobbed heavily in pain, crying out for them to leave him alone and stop, while they just continued to savagely attack any area of flesh they laid their eyes on.

The sharp end of a broken hoe and an old rusty gardening shovel cut into his back and left huge black bleeding bruises. He's being hit in the same places by the same blunt objects so many times that his skin is starting to rip and tear without even being cut.

Naruto endured this for what felt like days but could have only been at most an hour. He cried until no more tears came and he screamed until his throat was raw and not a sound came out even when he tried. He endured through the pain until it became a kind of distant ache as he tuned out of reality and his eyes began to cloud over, the sapphire color fading to a pale grey, until he looked dead and unseeing, even while he remained just barely conscious and mildly aware.

Over time the amount of people dwindled until less than ten remained, three of them being ninja. But apparently they are bored of just hitting a curled up and unmoving body so two of them wrenched him to his feet and pried him out of his protective ball.

Naruto's vision swirled before darkening around the edges, rivers of blood pooling at his feet, as his already grievous wounds are stretched and forced to shift and move with his body.

"Well then why don't we just finish up and get out of here." A civilian suggested, a grin of sick glee darkening his features.

"Yeah we gotta hurry up and kill him before one of those masked bastards tries to stop us again." One of the ninja, likely a Chunin agrees, with an irritated huff.

The child was then shoved against a wall and held there so they would be able to get in a good hit to his face and torso.

Even if his arms weren't being held above his head Naruto would not be able to defend himself. He no longer even had the energy to try to protect his chest and abdomen as they went back to hitting him with anything they could get their hands on, including their hands of course. He felt bones break and blood splatter the wall and ground of the alleyway, adding to the already sickening amount staining the dirt.

_A-are they really trying to ki-kill me? Sure they have all m-made it clear that they ha-hate me and w-want me dead but I can't remember them e-ever going this far in their be-beatings before. So they m-must be seriously tr-trying to kill me! But I can't d-die yet! I have to b-become Hokage and prove everyone wr-wrong and make them all respect me and look up to me! I can't die!_

The blonde felt his eyes beginning to sting but promptly ignored it in favor of processing his realization.

Sure the villagers had attacked and beaten him many times, at times it even seemed like the only reason they existed was to make his own existence horrible. But they had never actually tried to deal a killing blow, never actually 'gone for the kill', so to speak. They've come close to killing him, he'll admit, but during those times they had never _intentionally_ gone for his vital spots, he could tell that they weren't planning to kill him those times, not for real.

Now, however, is a completely different story. With the Shinobi egging on and even participating, they are actually gonna do it this time. He can sense the resolve to end him, and even some minor killing intent from the Chunin competent enough to be capable to emitting it.

Naruto didn't even get a chance to panic at the knowledge of his impending death before he felt white hot pain scorch through every nerve in his body from his chest. He coughed violently, blood shooting from his mouth; as he looked down to see a kunai buried to the hilt in his chest, right where his left lung would be.

It was then that he finally snapped.

_T-they are going to kill me; these people are going to kill me for something I have n-never done. They are going to end my life, destroying my hopes and dreams, for something I have absolutely no m-memory of ever doing. How dare they! They have no right!_

It was enough that he was always alone and that everybody hated and scorned him, but killing him? That was crossing a line he never even knew he had drawn.

Naruto was dimly aware that the stinging in his eyes had increased to near unbearable levels but pushed the pain away as he freed an arm from their hold and ripped the kunai out of his chest before lowering his head so that his bangs shadow his eyes and hide his expression from view. Blood poured from the wound in his torso as his breathing became short and ragged. He feels like he's suffocating as the red liquid started to fill his left lung and give the sensation of drowning, drowning in your own blood.

Despite this he could already feel his injuries beginning to heal and the child easily ignored the familiar itchy feeling he got from it.

"Hey what's wrong demon! Did you get hurt too bad?" one of the men above him taunted mockingly but Naruto ignored them.

Now that he had finally seen the true colors of the people Naruto all of a sudden made himself a new dream.

A slightly crazed look entered his gaze as he stared wide eyed at the bloody kunai tightly gripped in his hand_ Oh, I will become Hokage, but I will not do it to get the respect of the people. No, I will do it to purge the world of all of the bastards that inhabit it. _A small grin surfaced on his features but it only served to make him look maniacal as he tightened his grip on the blade.

_The ones that are ignorant and can never just let go of the past and move on. The ones creating the never ending cycle of hatred in the world. I will stop the cycle of pain and suffering and hate, and one of the best ways to do that is to become Hokage and rule the ninjas of the Leaf with that goal in mind. I will create a world where people can understand each other without fear or discrimination._

Naruto hardened his expression resolutely, the smile on his face shifting into a determined frown, and his eyes shining with what many great Shinobi would call the 'Will of Fire'.

_I will create true peace!_

At this point the pain in his eyes rapidly increased before reaching its peak and Naruto cried out at the sudden spike of agony, clutching at his eyes, as he tried desperately to alleviate the pain flaring behind his eyelids.

_What the hell is wrong with my eyes?! … Holy shit they're bleeding! They weren't damaged so why are the bleeding?! _Naruto exclaimed in his head as he drew his hands away from his face covered in blood, said life liquid streaming down from his tightly closed eyes.

"Hahaha, look it's crying again! Monster, why don't you just die!" the man's laugh turned into a sneer as he grabbed another kunai and brought it down, this time aiming for Naruto's heart.

But the weapon never reached its destination. Just before it sunk into the flesh of the child's chest he and all of the other people surrounding the six year old were pushed back, hard. Nothing even touched them; they were just suddenly flying through the air and colliding with the wall on the opposite side of the ally, it was like a super powered shockwave.

The force created small craters in the walls and all but one of the chunin were knocked unconscious from the force of it. The only remaining man staggered to his feet, cradling his left arm in order to sooth the pain from his dislocated shoulder.

"W-what the hell was that, demon!" he screeched at Naruto only to suck in his breath when the child lifted his head so that his eyes are visible.

His eyes are no longer the bright sapphire orbs that could put the true gem to shame, now they are a smoky grey with just the slightest tint of purple and are ringed, with no visible white in them.

The Shinobi was surprised at the change in eye color but it never even occurred to him that the change could be from a doujutsu. All he could think about was killing the demon that dared to defend himself for the crimes he has committed.

"You fucking demon, how dare you attack a ninja! I'll kill you and then present your head to the Hokage! I might even get a metal for it!" the ninja cackled as he shakily rose back to his feet and lunged at the blonde, completely unaware that those words would be his last.

The ninja's blood spattered the walls and ground of the ally, right alongside Naruto's own blood as he used the kunai that he was stabbed with earlier to slit the attacking man's jugular vein as soon as he was close enough.

The sickening sound of the body dropping on the ground in a puddle of blood coupled with the rancid stench of death had all of the ninja within half a mile tensing until the smell passed and fresh air refilled their lungs. However none of them left to investigate the source of the smell.

Adrenaline coursed through Naruto's veins, as he slid down the wall to sit crumpled on the ground, forcing himself to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. _W-what was that? One moment I'm about to be killed, and the next my eyes are bl-bleeding. _He thought in confused panic as he brought a hand up to wipe the blood still flowing down his cheeks before continuing his train of thought in an amazed tone.

_Then when I opened my eyes, all of those people were sent flying onto the other side of the ally! _He swallowed before glancing around at the unconscious bodies and single corpse.

_A-and when one of them stood back up and at-attacked me, m-my eyes could follow his… sloppy looking movements s-so easily, as if I were watching them in slow motion, and my body moved on its own to slice the artery visibly bulging on his neck. _He recalled with both awe and horror at what he had done.

It was like he was a completely different person, and he can see everything! Every miniscule crack in the walls and every speck of dirt on his clothes, he can even see what looks like a pale crystalline blue, nearly clear, fluid-like substance in large amounts in the more populated areas of Konoha. Small spots of it could be seen moving slowly around, though the amount of blue in each spot was rather small aside from the area around the Hokage tower and the ninja training grounds.

_I-Is it chakra? _He may only be six, but he knows enough about ninja's to know what chakra is. He is planning on one day going to the academy after all, so it's kind of a no brainer that he should at least know the basics.

_Regardless of my weird vision,_ _what happened just now? Whatever it was, it was freaking awesome!_

No, he can't say he particularly liked drenching himself in blood and killing the man, but in the ninja world it's either you or the enemy, and at the time, that man was the enemy.

Naruto enjoyed that he was finally able to do something and defend himself rather than just living in the never ending loop of pain and hatred that has become his life.

_M-maybe I don't have to continue to live like this; even without a family or friends… maybe I can change the world and make it a better place after all!_

Whatever happened in those few seconds took a weight off of his shoulders; it gave him the confidence to go through life without relying on his mask of goofy happiness, the courage to make a change without caring about the opinions of unimportant people.

This experience, coupled with his new dream and resolution, served to finally open the doors of his heart and mind that had been tightly locked and obscuring reality for a long time, the ones restricting his repressed emotions and unpleasant memories.

It gave him the drive to live and make a change in the world, to create true peace even if it is at the cost of his own sense of heart, mind, or even his life.

So with his new dream in the forefront of his mind Naruto rose from where he had collapsed onto the ground -gritting his teeth through the pain shooting through every fiber of his being- and limped, as fast as his broken body would allow him, home.

After all, home is his only half safe shelter to get some healing done without the accusing glares of the people to worry about, not that he's going to worry anymore, he has a concrete goal now and there is no way that he will allow a few obviously confused people ruin his life.

The doctors in the hospital would sooner spit on his dying form than actually treat his broken bones and the Hokage tower is too far away, so home is his only place to rest, recuperate, and hopefully heal. Naruto knows that his healing capabilities are above average, heck he could probably outpace the best ninja healers, but he still needs time to let his body fix itself.

As he staggered down the relatively empty streets his thoughts turned back to a particular accusation he hears more and more often from the mobs and citizens who whisper a bit _too_ loud whenever he walks by. They blame him for the death of their beloved _Kiiroi Senkō_, Konoha's Yellow Flash, as ridiculous as it sounds.

_I mean seriously, how on earth am I supposed to have killed the Yondaime Hokage? He's a Kage! And besides the Yondaime died six years ago, I was only a newborn baby then! _The blonde grumbled inside his head

Naruto is not half as idiotic as he portrays himself as around other people, particularly the old man Hokage. He can figure out things easily enough when he actually tries.

The blonde coughed again but this time, to his relief, no blood came out, meaning that his lung had healed to a degree. Naruto held back another round of coughs as he arrived at his old rundown apartment not at all surprised to see the door half open and the walls in his home painted with all kinds of derogatory language and death threats.

Naruto ignored the chemical smell of the still wet paint and staggered over to his cot… or where his cot used to be. Apparently the people that broke in earlier thought it would be funny to take his only piece of furniture.

So now, only old newspapers line the floor in place of the cot, in the likeness of a makeshift bed, with another paint message above it saying '_Monsters don't need beds!' _along with another few death threats and insults.

Naruto can't exactly say that any of this is surprising since stuff like this happens just about every day but this is the first time they have touched his bed. He always figured that they were afraid they would be tainted it they touched the 'demons' place of rest.

Not being in the mood or really having the energy to go find another place to sleep Naruto laid down on the newspaper- glad that it was summer so the night would not be cold enough for him to need a blanket- and curled in on himself as his eyes drooped.

_I'll go see the old man… tomorrow… about getting a lock… on my door… but… for now… sleep…_

Those were his last thoughts before sleep overtook him and he was dragged into the world of dreams to sleep peacefully for the first night in months.

_**~0o0~ (Mindscape)**_

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself standing in what looked like an old sewer with long grimy corridors and sludge floating in the water on the floor which comes up to about mid-thigh on the tiny six year old.

"Where is this?" the blonde wondered out loud, seeing as how he was alone anyway, and there was nobody to stare at him weirdly for talking to himself.

His eyes narrowed in confusion, he doesn't recall ever being in a sewer, nor if Konoha even has a sewer system. His last memory is of falling asleep on his makeshift bed of newspapers, so how did he get here?

If there's one thing Naruto can tell it's that he's in what could possibly be a never ending maze of tunnels, and that trying to navigate them without getting hopelessly lost would be practically impossible, but that didn't deter him from wanting to try.

Right when the boy was about to begin his escapade of traversing the unknown territory, he felt a shiver go down his spine as a voice thick with hatred and malice echoes down the halls before reaching his ears.

"**Come this way…"**

Despite the fear shooting through his body, and his instincts screaming for him to do anything but what the voice tells him, Naruto was drawn to the measured amount of sadness he detected in the voice.

It wasn't very obvious, but to Naruto, who is used to hiding his own emotions and excels at seeing through others people's intentions, it's easy for him to notice the underlying feeling of sadness within all of the rage and hate.

He is also sure he can feel a great amount of pain hiding within the anger but that is to be readily expected. Hate and anger is only the most common way of dealing with hurt, it's a branching from pain. Why do you think that the first thing someone feels when someone they love is killed is the sorrow of loss before anger at the killer?

The voice intrigues him; it reminds him of his own pain, sadness, and anger at the clueless civilians for what they do to him. That's why he decided to do as he was told and go in the general direction that the voice had echoed from.

The small six year old had much trouble walking through the surprisingly thick water, but what really disturbed him was that he could not see through it at all, he couldn't even see where his feet are going! Makes him a little nervous of what could be in the water or that he could step into a hole or something…

After a few minutes of just wandering the hallways and seeing nothing but the disgusting grime that is apparently normal for this place, Naruto finally came to a large room with what looked like a cage set into the wall on the opposite side of it.

The entire room is filled with an overwhelming killing intent that nearly brings him to his knees, and definitely would have if not for the slight resistance he has developed from previous exposures to killing intent. Some of the ninja he has come into contact with over the years have tossed some decent KI at him, whether to see if they can stop his heart with it, or to simply let him know that he isn't wanted there, they have the same affect.

Though even the most potent of his past experiences with KI e same .d stop his heart with it, or to simply let him know that he isn'imhave no compare to what he is now feeling. He can remain standing only thanks to previous exposures, he's frozen in place and can't move a muscle; he's even having difficulty breathing, his eyes wide and unblinking, and his body trembling with the need to run but inability to do so.

"**Over here…"**

As the voice, clearly coming from the other side of the enormous bars, spoke, the amount of KI in the room suddenly dropped to more bearable levels. With the force keeping him immobile weakened, Naruto finally broke out of his frozen stupor, stumbling forward before lifting his head to stare at where the voice is coming from. _D-does it really expect me to go over there?_

Naruto hesitated for a moment before warily obeying and approaching the large cage, taking in the paper seal on the gateway.

"Who's there?" Naruto questioned uneasily.

It took all of the blonde boy's effort just to keep his voice from cracking or stuttering in the presence of such power and killing intent.

He could see an seemingly infinite mass of red chakra in front of him… and the feeling it gives off is so malicious and corrosive, so evil that a newborn baby could have felt it, but what was getting to him was not the muted killer intent in the chakra but the screams of agony and anger that were coming from the chakra. It was enough to drive one insane if exposed for too long.

By now the blonde had figured out that he was either in his mindscape or a very vivid dream. Neither of which were very comforting thoughts.

Naruto stopped just outside of the bars, staring into the blackness inside the cage. He wasn't sure whether to stay rooted to the spot or continue on into the cage, something was telling him to go inside… but another part, most likely his fight or flight instincts, were roaring at him to run like hell, away from the voice and the cage.

"**Inside…" **the voice directed with what could only be immense patience.

The voice from such a close proximity almost made his knees buckle but it was enough to spur him onward, inside the cage.

Naruto is reluctant to continue onward but figures there's no point to stopping now when he has already gotten so close.

So he takes a deep steadying breath before stepping inside, only stopping when his entire body is at least a foot inside the gigantic cage. Once inside Naruto shifts restlessly from foot to foot, unsure of what to do. He feels that he doesn't belong in this space, that he's an unwanted invader, an intruder who should not be there, and it's starting to get to him.

"W-who are y-you?"

This time the child was not able to keep the stutter out of his words and he grimaced in distaste at that.

This time the voice answered his inquiry **"Kyuubi no ****Yōko****"**

At that, it was like a light suddenly came on inside the cage, and an enormous red fox with nine swishing tails appeared in front of him, lying on its stomach like it had just been woken up from a deep slumber… and what's worse is that the beasts head was only a few feet away from Naruto, resting on its two front paws.

Those cold crimson eyes were staring intently into him is if they were studying the soul of a life form just interesting enough to be kept alive for further study.

Naruto is no idiot; he knows that, despite any stories being fed to the younger generation that the Yondiame Hokage had killed the nine tailed demon fox, this in front of him is the Kyuubi.

Besides he knows it's impossible to truly kill a bijuu, he discovered such information when skimming through some old books in the library_ (in a disguise which, while it would not have worked on a shinobi, easily fooled the lazy civilian librarian)_ and it was written that bijuu can only be sealed in either a specially blessed urn or a human baby with undeveloped chakra coils.

That, coupled with the fact that the Yellow Flash was an avid seal master, is enough to prove that the Kyuubi was sealed into something… or someone. Naruto just never made the connection that it was him who was used as the Jinchuriki.

Jinchuriki. What a disgusting term, the art of human sacrifice, an art indeed.

_How stupid of me! You'd think I could make the connection! Especially when I'm referred to as a demon every day and beaten for crimes that were committed by the Kyuubi! Idiot!_

While Naruto was mentally chastising himself the demon fox raised its head off its paws and took the time to get a better look at his newest host/jailer.

_**He does not seem as hopeless as my previous jailers, in fact he seems intelligent enough to not buy into all of the crap that the adults of this village spoon feed him… he even has the Rinnegan activated. Not bad… **_The fox mused as he watched the looks on his host's face go from shocked, to confused, to angry, to mildly annoyed.

Naruto took a couple deep breaths in an attempt to calm down before organizing his thoughts in an attempt at analyzing the situation from a calm cool and collected angle.

_Okay the fox called me here so it is likely that he wanted to either see me or speak with me about something, and another thing is that he has not attacked me yet despite the fact that I am within his cage, meaning that he will probably not try to kill me and escape as long as I play my cards right. _Naruto concluded using his observational skills to their fullest.

Gathering his courage or what little was available in the face of such a powerful demon Naruto looked up and stared the Kyuubi right in its eyes.

"Why did you call me here?" the blonde spoke emotionlessly.

Naruto was careful to keep all of his fear and anger out of his voice. He did not want the Kitsune to think that he was disrespecting him, but he also did not want it to think that he was afraid of him.

The nine tails looked almost amused for a moment before It sat up so that it was towering over the small child and spoke down to him, not in a superior or even a condescending way like Naruto expected, but the hate was still there along with the pain and sadness, the latter two being much more noticeable from this distance.

"**I called you here to assess you, and I've concluded that you are the most worthy out of everyone currently living in this world to hold inside you a powerful demon such as myself. I will train you and offer you my help if you want or need it."**

The blonde only stared blankly for a moment, clearly not comprehending anything that he was just told, before realization slowly dawned on him and his face flashed through a myriad of expressions.

First confusion, then shock, then suspicion, then shock again, before finally settling on confusion.

Naruto's mind is reeling a mile per minute as he attempts to make sense of _anything_ the Kyuubi just said. Because he honestly was not expecting to hear anything even remotely along those lines when he first saw the beast, in fact he expected a lot of insults and curses and ripping him limb from limb, not approval and offering assistance! _The fox wants to… help me? Shouldn't he hate me?! This makes no sense!_

"What do you mean? Don't you want to escape?" Naruto narrowed his eyes as he presented his questions, praying to receive a straight answer that would clear up at least _some_ of his confusion.

The Kyuubi's head bobbed slightly as if to show that he was expecting nothing less from the blonde, before answering his question.

"**I do not particularly want my freedom, I have always wanted the opportunity to train one of my containers but those blasted chakra chains always stopped me from doing anything…. Well that and my previous jailers just pissed me off. **The Kyuubi sounded more than a little irritated as he spoke the last part before his voice shifted to something more neutral.

**However I do want you to at least change the scenery in here; it's very drafty and disgusting. I don't even dare taking my better form in here lest I soil my fur.**

The almost winey complaints coming from such a giant fox and in such a deep masculine voice was comical and the only thing stopping Naruto from laughing his ass off at it was the heavy aura of hatred still surrounding him.

"So let me get this straight…" Naruto pointed a finger at the fox as he rubbed his temple with his other hand "…You want to train me…" the finger pointed at himself now "And all you want out of it is better landscaping?"

Kyuubi looked at Naruto like he was an idiot before speaking again

"**Oh, don't tell me you expected some evil plot about destroying the world or something equally ridiculous, because I am absolutely sick and tired of everyone labeling demons as some sort of evil weapons of mass destruction that delight in killing off everything in their paths" **The Kitsune paused **"Well maybe Shukaku, he does have rather destructive tendencies, but we're not **_**all**_** like that!" **Kyuubi growled indignantly.

"Then what about attacking Konoha?" the blonde accused, while at the same time wondering which of the bijuu Shukaku is.

"**Ah! That was not me! Some bastard Uchiha used his Sharingan to control me, not to mention that because it was against my will I was hardly even operating at half power on that day. If I had been seriously trying to destroy the leaf village it would be nothing but rubble right now. Not even worth a single Bijudama, much less how many that creep had me shooting off."**

Naruto sweat dropped before crossing his arms in contemplation._ He doesn't seem to be lying, he could just be pretending so that I let my guard down… but then again if he honestly wanted me dead he could have done it the second I stepped into the cage…_

After a few moments of thinking it over he looked back up at the demon.

"Fine I'll do it. Just tell me what to do, and if you don't keep your promise…" Naruto trailed off, knowing that he wouldn't have to elaborate further.

The Kyuubi nodded in acceptance **"You just have to rip off about half of the seal; it's strong so it won't break but it will weaken enough so that you will have better access to my chakra and will be able to change how it looks in here."**

Naruto watched the huge fox for a moment as if trying to discern whether he was lying or not, before stepping back, out of the cage, and staring up at the seal, almost immediately a pillar of water rose up taking him with it so that he was right in front of the two foot long seal. The blonde reached out and grabbed the seal at its middle before tearing it cleanly in half.

The reaction was instantaneous. A bright light suddenly engulfed the entire area and Naruto was forced to close his eyes at its brightness. After a few moments Naruto found himself lying down on something soft.

_Soft? What the hell is soft in a sewer? Oh god, please don't let me be dead or something._

The blonde quickly snapped his eyes open and looked around. He's now in a beautiful meadow of sorts, with lush green grass and large clumps of trees, along with a pond and a small river off to the side. It wasn't very bright, but there was a pale yellow sun in the sky surrounded by wispy clouds.

Naruto could do nothing but stare at his pretty surroundings in amazement for several minutes before a kind voice that was quiet, soft, and distinctively male, snapped him out of his admiring.

"**What do you think?"**

Naruto whipped around, and in place of the huge cage and giant red fox the size of a mountain was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

The Kyuubi is now a pure white with the ends of each of his nine tails and tips of his ears, a blood red color. His eyes are still crimson but they seem somewhat softer now. One of the biggest changes is his size, instead of being big enough to use the Hokage tower as a toothpick he is now about the size of an average civilian house. His fur looks soft to the touch and shines silver when the pale sunlight reflects off of it.

He also has a thick, black, leather collar around his neck with kanji reading **SEAL** on it in big bold lettering.

Kyuubi seemed to notice his open mouthed staring as he rolled on his back playfully and cocked his head in amusement.

"**Like the new look? This is my better form and I honestly hate getting it dirty, this white coat is impossible to clean."**

Naruto then notices the calm and almost happy tone of voice that the Kyuubi's now using and the utter lack of that terrible oppressing feeling of malice and hatred that had dominated his mind previously. Instead he feels a comfortable atmosphere surrounding the fox, as if a simple change of forms is all it takes to dispose of that terrible aura from before.

Kyuubi then rolled back onto his stomach and rested his head on his front paws

"**Ah, so much better." **The fox sighed contentedly before looking at the blonde,** "Well then kit, why don't you do me a favor and go look at your reflection in the water?" **He suggested with a yawn and a nod in the directing of the pond.

Confused and unsure, Naruto simply did what was asked and walked over to the clear water before bending down and looking at his reflection. Blonde hair, whisker marks, and ringed, smoky, grayish purple eyes greeted him. He reared back with a cry of surprise before whipping back around and stomping over to the nine tailed fox, who now had his eyes closed in rest.

"What the hell did you do to my eyes?!" He shouted at the vulpes, completely forgetting that he was dealing with the strongest chakra monster in existence.

Kyuubi opened one eye to look at the blonde before closing it again **"I am not responsible for that. That is your own fault and the fault of those villagers. It's called the Rinnegan, it is a bloodline doujutsu. A very rare one too"**

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and he took a step back to stop himself from falling over. He has heard of doujutsu and bloodlines. Apparently they are a big thing to have for ninja, and the Hyuuga and Uchiha are very revered clans because of their doujutsu.

"I have… a bloodline? A doujutsu? But how…?"

"**It is from your… mother's… side." **He said with a bit of contempt, like it disgusted him to even admit such a thing**.**

"**Your Uzumaki blood carries the Rinnegan but it often skips many generations and is nearly impossible to activate… Usually it takes an extremely traumatic experience to awaken it and with the life you have lived so far I'm honestly surprised it did not appear sooner." **Kyuubi explained patiently

Naruto is still a little unsure and freaked out but stifled those feelings for the moment. Instead of voicing his confusion he simply nodded before voicing his next questions, a tint of curious desperation coloring his tone "M-my mother? H-how do you know a-about her?"

"**She was my… previous container before you. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, a decent ninja in her day, proficient in a good array of techniques along with sealing." **it wasn't very noticeable but Naruto could detect scorn, or perhaps malevolence, in the fox's tone when speaking of his mother, but he pushed that observation to the back of his mind for now. He is learning about his family, finally!

"What about my father?" excitement entering his voice at the prospect of knowing who both of his parents are.

This time Kyuubi hesitated **"…Minato Namikaze was his name… the Yondaime hokage and the person who sealed me into you."**

First Naruto was shocked, his eyes dilating and his breathing picking up. _My father was the hokage, and hero of the village! He stopped the Kyu- _then an odd kind of anger welled up inside of him, not quite hatred but very close to that feeling, he felt something within him break just as he bowed his head to shadow his eyes and the tears that were gathering in them.

"My… my own father sealed a demon inside of me…he condemned me to this life." The child's voice cracked as he spoke slowly.

Kyuubi was quick to correct him **"You were a baby so you do not remember, but I do. Right after he finished the sealing he told the monkey hokage that he wished for you to be seen as a hero for your burden and that he also did not wish for your connection to him to be revealed. He has many enemies, especially in Iwa and Kumo, and he did not want you to be killed before you could even grow up."**

Naruto's anger flared even further "Then he was a naive fool! How could he not have known how jinchuriki are treated?! How could he have expected Konoha to be any different from the rest of the villages?! To see past their hatred right after the object of their hatred destroyed their village and killed hundreds of their loved ones before being sealed inside a child?! He did nothing but create a scapegoat for them and then leave me to suffer! His own son!" he shouted to no one in particular.

The Kyuubi growled threateningly at this **"Shut up and listen to me for a minute! I completely agree with you that what he did was irresponsible and stupid and that he deserves everything he gets in the Shinigami's stomach. However I think you should see what actually transpired on the night of your birth before you make judgments!"**

Naruto was taken aback at the tone the Kyuubi was using. It was upset and angry and almost… hurt?

The nine tailed fox sighed **"Come here, I will share with you my memories of what happened."**

Naruto was hesitant to approach the demon but after a moment slowly walked around to stand in front of the Kyuubi's face. Kyuubi then leaned forward and touched the tip of his snout to Naruto's forehead and all of a sudden a million images were flashing through his mind.

Of his mother and father finding out about Kushina's pregnancy and being so happy, of them taking precautions for the birth and of Minato holding her seal while Kushina gave birth. Then of a masked man taking baby Naruto hostage and Minato saving him. Of the masked man taking Kushina and drawing out the Kyuubi, taking control of him in the process. After that, of the masked man making Kyuubi attack the village and Minato defending it. Finally of the moment of the sealing and Minato and Kushina protecting their baby up until the end.

When the images finally stopped Naruto was sobbing heavily and shaking. He had had no idea of what his parents had done to ensure his survival and had made some pretty bad accusations.

Of course that does not mean that he forgives them, there were many other options to take and the fact that they chose the one they did only angered him more, in fact looking on the circumstances, hundreds of other options came to mind, only building his fury, but in the end he could not completely hate them.

It took a moment for Naruto to remember just who he was crying in front of and another moment to rein in control of his emotions.

The blonde wiped at his eyes furiously while mumbling apologies to the large Kitsune.

"**It's fine… kit. I expected this." **Kyuubi said gently before looking at him sternly.

"**That is why I did not wish for you to make judgments without knowing the full story. It is an important lesson that many ninja never learn, and it is what creates the corrupted systems that exist today. You should always remember to not make judgments from what you have heard, or from how people look; you should decide your own opinions and listen to all sides of the story before choosing who to involve yourself with. You must learn to look underneath the underneath."**

Naruto was both surprised and awed from the amount of wisdom that the nine tailed bijuu was showing and it only cemented in his mind that he wished for the Kyuubi to teach him, but first he had some questions that needed answering.

"Who was that masked teme?" _That man is responsible for everything and he is going to pay dearly for it._

Kyuubi once again hesitated, as if unsure of whether to tell him or not, before conceding **"He claims to be Madara Uchiha, though I have my doubts about that, he was one of the founders of the leaf village before he betrayed it and was supposedly killed by the first hokage. However if Madara had the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan it is possible for him to develop a form of immortality or at least a vastly extended life."**

"Wait, so you're saying that he is still alive today?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise and curiosity while simultaneously wondering _Mangekyo Sharingan?_

The Kyuubi nodded before closing his eyes again in thought **"From what I have gathered, his plan is to use all of the current Bijuu to revive the Juubi, though I have no idea what he would want to do with that monster."**

"What do you mean? Weren't you once a part of the Juubi?" Naruto questioned, recalling an area in the text he had read that explained how the sage of six paths had split the Juubi into nine chakra monsters, creating the bijuu.

Kyuubi smiled in satisfaction at his kit's intelligence before speaking again__**"My chakra and abilities may have once made up a part of him, but we are separate beings, and I have no wish to be included in that Uchiha's plans."** Kyuubi then paused before continuing in a bitter tone. **"The Sharingan was given to the Uchiha as a blessing; it was never meant to be used for gaining fame and fortune or cheating through the ranks like it is today, it does not belong to the humans as they are using it now.**

Naruto could kind of understand hating the Uchiha and Sharingan after being manipulated by them so he didn't comment. He wants to see for himself before agreeing or disagreeing with the fox's opinion.

"**Now isn't there something else you want to discuss?" **Kyuubi changed the subject.

Naruto suddenly remembered what he wanted to ask after clarifying the masked man's identity "Oh yeah! What do you know about the Rinnegan? Can you teach me how to use it? Can you teach me other awesome ninja things? Can you? Can you? Huh?"

Naruto knows he's acting a bit out of character, but this is the first time someone has been willing to actually teach him something! The only reason he even knows how to read and write at the moment is because an ANBU with a weasel mask had helped him to learn whenever he was on guard duty.

"**One at a time. Yes to your second question, yes to your third question… and your first question is… well… complicated."**

Naruto narrowed his eyes in confused suspicion "What do you mean complicated? You said you would train me right? Well how am I supposed to learn if I don't know how it works?"

Kyuubi seemed mildly offended that Naruto would doubt his knowledge but quickly erased it with a look of exasperation **"You misunderstand. It's not that I won't tell you…. I am simply at a loss of how it is supposed to work with you. It has some general abilities, like power over gravity, but each person has a slightly different variation of the Rinnegan and it doesn't help that it is so rare in the first place."**

Naruto made a face that showed his confusion._ Then how am I going to learn how to use it?_

"**However I have an idea of how to awaken a different set of powers." **A gleam seemingly flashed through the fox's eyes before disappearing just as swiftly as it appeared.** "From my experience with the Rinnegan, it is common for the user to be able to summon six other beings that will have control over the paths of life and death, more commonly referred to as the six paths of rebirth."** At this Kyuubismirked deviously.** "But that is a lesser way of the Samsara eye." **

The blonde felt a shiver of excitement shoot down his spine at the direction the nine tailed fox is going.

"**I know of a more… advanced way of using the Rinnegan from my time with the sage of six paths, and that is what I intend on teaching you, it might make your abilities different from the more customary powers of the Rinnegan though."**

Naruto was a little conflicted about that bit of information; disappointed that he wouldn't get the original Rinnegan abilities but also extremely excited that he would get more advanced abilities… _But are the new powers really better than the original? I mean isn't it better to know the basics first?_

Almost as if Kyuubi could tell that Naruto was having doubts, he continued.

"**The new abilities will defiantly be stronger and more superior although they are not too different from the original, you should feel honored to have a powerful demon such as myself here to help you, nobody knows how to unlock the full potential of the Rinnegan except the bijuu**."

Naruto would swear blind until the day he died that the nine tailed demon fox looked smug right then. **"And you're lucky enough to get one willing to help you, and turn you into the strongest creature to ever walk the earth… aside from me of course**" Kyuubi's calm stare turned into a creepy kind of leer **"I do not tolerate the 'student surpassing the teacher' bullshit, understood?"**

Naruto immediately straightened to attention with his hand up to his forehead in a mockingly sloppy salute "H-hai, Kyuubi-sensei!"

Right after those words came out of his mouth Naruto noticed the fox stiffen and look almost troubled for a moment, his eyes darting everywhere and snout scrunching up before he simply let his head fall back onto his front paws and his eyes slide shut.

"**My name is not Kyuubi, Kyuubi is what I am, we bijuu have names just like everyone else." **Naruto was surprised at the kitsune's quiet bitter tone.

Sure the fox hadn't been very loud throughout their dialogue but he also hadn't made a point to be quiet, and at the moment the nine tailed vulpes looked upset, something definitely weird and a bit disturbing on the cocky chakra beast.

"Then what's your name?" the small six year old is seriously curious. _If he has a name then why does nobody call him by his name when referring to him?_

The fox seemed honestly surprised at that **"Why would you want to know?" **

Now Naruto is confused "Uh… why wouldn't I? It would be better than calling you Kyuubi all the time, wouldn't it?"

Kyuubi decided to clarify** "You should hate me; and you have every right to after the role I played in your parent's death, not to mention that I am also partially responsible for all of the hate and prejudice you have to live with." **Kyuubi looked almost guilty here.

"**So why are you even still here? You could have just left at any time whether you had questions or not, and I fully expected you to lash out at me at some point despite the fact that I could easily crush you." **Naruto had a feeling that the fox added that last bit to preserve his pride despite the fact that he was lowering himself to ask such questions.** "So why on earth are you so willing to learn from me and know something like my name?"**

Naruto closed his eyes in thought of how to respond to the patiently waiting bijuu and after already coming up with his answer he stayed quiet just to see if he could make the creature squirm. When he felt no such uncertainty or anxiousness in the demon fox, he sighed in defeat.

"To be completely honest with you, I'm not really sure why I'm so willing to trust you and let you teach me… it might just be that nobody else is willing to, so I'm excited and desperate, but I do know that you are not to blame for what happened to my parents, that was all Madara or whoever he is, and while you _are_ partially responsible for the way I have been treated, I don't think that it is your fault either, it was the villager's decision to be stupid and it was my father's decision to seal you within me."

Naruto could tell that the Kyuubi was already mystified but he had to finish what he planned to say.

"If I blamed you for what happened when you had no more control over the situation than I did, I wouldn't be any better than the rest of Konoha, worse actually because I know what happened on that night."

At this Naruto narrowed his eyes and studied the large fox appraisingly before seeming to come to a decision "So I don't blame you, and if that was your version of asking for forgiveness, you've got it, but you have to help me become the best ninja in the world as compensation for the part you played in the deterioration of my already abysmal childhood." He bargained sternly before grinning.

Kyuubi, to his credit tried very hard to appear stoic, but the shock in his eyes betrayed him. _**How can such a young child be so understanding and forgiving? Well then again it is to be expected, he had to grow up and mature a lot sooner than most children because of his treatment and independent living style, but six years old is very young to learn all of these things, I just hope it doesn't turn him into something he wasn't meant to be.**_

The chakra monster simply stared at the still grinning child for a moment his features schooled into a blank frown before he finally broke into an affectionate smirk.

"**Heh, I was going to do that anyway, I can't have my container be a pathetic weakling, it would reflect badly on me. Plus if I got you good and strong and you ended up doing something extreme like saving the world one day, it would be like a smack in the face for all of those upper world bastards. Not to mention the kick I would get out of messing around with those damn irritating stalkers in hell."**

Naruto stifled a laugh at that but decided against asking about Kyuubi's problems with the upper and lower worlds. The two of them fell into a companionable silence for a moment before Naruto decided to break it with an earlier question.

"So are you going to tell me your name?"

Kyuubi studied him for a second before shaking his head in the negative. Making Naruto deflate in disappointment.

The blonde wined pitifully "But why?"

"**To give you something to strive for. I will tell you my name after you master the Rinnegan or when I deem you worthy, but until then you may call me Kyuubi-sensei, Kyuubi-sama, or Master, understood? A demons name is not something to give out freely."**

Naruto sighed in frustration as he felt a vein pop._If he wasn't going to tell me anyway why did he make such a big fuss about it?! I really want to know now! He got me all curious! Damn fox!_

"…And how long will mastering that take?" the blonde gulped in both irritation and apprehension as his eye twitched.

The Kitsune turned his eyes up to the sky as if thinking it over before finally voicing **"With the training I have in mind, coupled with what you will have to learn, and taking into account your actual ninja training, I'd say you could master it in roughly… forty years."**

Naruto blanched before complaining in a high voice "What? I'll be an old man by then! Can't I learn it faster?"

"**Hmmm…" **Kyuubi already had a plan in mind for shortening the time but decided to hesitate, making the boy nervous.

"**Well… there is a way to divide your bloodline training by three so you could master it in about thirteen years give or take… and if I teach you a certain technique you will be able to learn things hundreds of times faster than normal…" **he offered.

Naruto grinned in relived happiness as he thought it over _Thirteen years is still a long time but I bet if I work really hard, I can shorten it! And being able to learn at a faster pace is something invaluable that I simply cannot pass up._

Naruto struck the nice guy pose, one hand resting on his hip, the other in a thumbs up position, and a grin on his face. "I'll master it in ten years, and become the greatest shinobi in the world! That's a promise Dattebayo!"

Kyuubi cringed at the sound of the obnoxiously familiar verbal tic **"First things first. That kill-me-orange monstrosity you are wearing has got to go, along with that insufferable tic of yours that you no doubt inherited from your equally annoying mother."**

Naruto was about to protest but was quickly cut off.

"**You make yourself an obvious target when you wear a bright color like orange, and that is not something you want in the world of ninja."** Naruto once again opened his mouth but was silenced when Kyuubi continued **"And I don't care how good of training it is to try hiding from people in such a bright color, in the real world your enemy might not be so easy to trick."**

"No fair! How did you know what I was going to say?!" the blonde child exclaimed.

Kyuubi eyed the boy reproachfully** "Kit, you are easier to read than a two letter word. Something that we will need to work on apparently." **The fox sniffed with distain before growling low.

"**Now wake up! I'm tired and sore from the change of form. We'll start your training tomorrow night, and in the mean time we can communicate through the mind link I'll be setting up, got it?"**

Naruto nodded before closing his eyes and willing himself to wake up, all the while mumbling about a bipolar Kitsune in need of a slight attitude adjustment.

_**~0o0~**_

_Okay if you're wondering why Minato didn't show up to stop Naruto from tearing the seal, it's because Naruto was not intending on removing the seal entirely. If he had approached it with the intention of ripping off the whole seal, the Yondaime would have appeared in a flash!_

So anyway, here's the first chapter! Let me know what you think in a review or a PM. I likely won't be able to update the next chapter for a while, so don't expect more for a couple weeks. Sorry, but quality _and_ quantity take time, effort, and a shit ton of editing ;)

Yeah I know, I_ really_ should be working more on my other stories but I've been sitting on this idea for a while and couldn't resist.

Feel free to ask questions or criticize, but if you have anything resembling a flame, send it through PM please, I don't appreciate those in reviews.


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